The Mark McCutchen Family
To
Brazil
Dear Pastor and Praying Friends,
September 7, 2002
As we were leaving DFW, or shall I say trying to leave, the verse
in Revelation 22:20b came to mind, “Even
so, come, Lord Jesus.” The
ticket agent assigned to us had never
dealt with 
international flights before.
After looking at our passports for more than 30 minutes she
thought it would be a good idea to x-ray all of our bags.
Three hours later we arrived at our gate; 10 minutes before
departure. We finally
arrived in São Paulo, Brazil on August 8th!
Praise the Lord our 16 suitcases were not searched.
The customs agent took one look at our bags, knowing the fact
that we were moving back as missionaries, and waived us through.
The Lord allowed us to rent the same home we lived in from
1994-1997. Because there
are approximately 12,000 murders in São Paulo a year (70 for every
100,000 people), Dana loves the safety of our home. It’s a very busy
business section with a bus stop right in front.
During the first two weeks, we took part in Jerry and Atalias’
wedding, and bought all of our appliances including our closets.
The homes are not equipped with showerheads, closets, curtains,
refrigerators or stoves. We
ordered our closets and they were delivered the next day in two boxes.
We assumed that the 
men would return later that day to assemble them.
(I would have assembled them myself, but the guarantee would not
have been valid). After
three days of looking at our closet in boxes, I called the store to find
out when the men would return.
The clerk responded with, “You have to mark a day for the men
to return.” (Welcome to Brazil).
I was able to install our showerheads.
We finally had hot water. Three
days of taking cold
showers in the wintertime was almost unbearable. 
Shaunna is doing well in her
correspondent course to become a Veterinary Assistant.
She is such an asset to the ministry.
Her plans are to earn her VA degree and then pursue her career in
the states. Her Portuguese is improving every day.
Justin is working with the weight training program at PACA (Pan
American Christian 
Academy), located about five minutes from our house. Along with home schooling, he is working as a technician on a
volunteer basis at the Instituto Butantã.
This is the reptile center from the University of São Paulo.
After graduation in 2004, he plans on studying at the UTA of
Arlington, TX to receive his herpetology degree.
Dana is doing well, but continue to pray
for her. Her spasms have
spread to her mouth and throat. We
have been in contact with Dr. Cardoso in Belo Horizonte.
He was trained under Dr. Jankovic in Houston, TX. He will
administer the needed injections of Botox.
She will need to continue with the injections every four months
to help assist with the surgery that she had back in April.
As Dana set up housekeeping, I was able to rent our phone line,
get our documents in order, and buy a used 1997 Blazer which will hold
up well on the “bumpy” roads here in Brazil.
There are thirty-one speed bumps from our house to the church.
In the absence of Jerry and Atalias (they were
on the honeymoon), we have been caring for the work in Vargem Grande
(the work we started in 1994). Dana
has been teaching the children in Sunday school and I have been teaching
on Thursday nights. Irmão
Domingos has been preaching on Sundays.
What a blessing it is to be involved in the Lord’s work.
I was out the other day handing out tracts in Vargem Grande, when
my heart filled with joy to be able to share the gospel in Portuguese to
the people that God has sent us to. I did not see any accepting Jesus as
their Savior yet, but the seed has been planted.
I ask that you would continue to pray for our family.
Pray
also for the work that HE has given us to do. We
will continue to work at Vargem Grande helping the people to grow in
Christ. We want so much for the work to have it’s own Brazilian pastor
one day, but it has suffered much in the last few years. Our co-laborer, Jerry has had to divide his time between two
churches for the past two years. Please
pray that we will see many come to know HIM over the next few
years. God bless each of
you for being so faithful to send us to HIS
mission field, a field that is ready to harvest.
A note of highlight: On our Tuesday visits, Jerry and I were able to
minister to Valdimir, a man in his late twenties that visited our church
last week. After sharing
the gospel with him, he bowed his head and accepted Christ as his
Savior. He’s bringing his
wife on Sunday.
Thankfully Received,
‘Till He Comes,
_____________July
_____________August
Mark, Dana, Shaunna & Justin
Sent By: Pleasantview
Baptist Church 4400 Pleasantview Drive, Arlington, Texas 76017
Sent Through: World
Baptist Fellowship P O BOX
13459, Arlington Texas 76094
Email address: mdmccutchen@ig.com.br
(NEW ADDRESS)
